Desk research Add/remove

Purpose:

You can with desktop research start defining what it is that you need to research. Create search terms, who do you need to talk to, what papers do you need to read, which methods could you use both to gain an overview but also to accumulate data and how to collect the right kind of data etc.

 

Step by step Facilitating tips Materials needed Goes well with

Tips to include participants who are not able to:

See

If participants are not able to see, use apps/programs that can make your computer read the papers/articles out loud or a helper. Focus on talking to stakeholders/users. If you are researching a physical object, use your senses and feel your way of how the product/service works.

Focus

If participants have a hard time focusing on conducting research for longer periods of time, divide the research in bits. Do not rush through it, instead add more time to your research phase in your overall plan.

Speak

If participants can not speak, interviews could be conducted by bringing along a translator. Another possibility is to prepare an interview guide where the interviewees read from the guide and write down their answers.

Hear

If participants can not hear, interviews could be conducted by bringing along a translator. Another possibility is to prepare an interview guide where the interviewees read from the guide and write down their answers.

Move

If participants are unable to move, and operating a computer is difficult, team up with a partner to spare with, who can lead this part of the research. This could be a helper, documenter, facilitator or group members if part of a group.

Think

If participants have thinking limitations, keep the research more structured and possibly with help from facilitators. Search for simple information types like videos and images, and note down clear and brief conclusions.

Emote

For the interviewing research it is crucial that participants try to sympathize with the interviewees. If this is difficult, talk about the interviewees' profiles in advance in groups and eg. make personas of them to awake sympathy.

Hold

If participants are unable to hold, and operating a computer is difficult, team up with a partner to spare with, who can lead this part of the research. This could be a helper, documenter, facilitator or group members if part of a group.

Touch

If participants are unable to touch, and operating a computer is difficult, team up with a partner to spare with, who can lead this part of the research. This could be a helper, documenter, facilitator or group members if part of a group.

Overview

Input

Research

Output

Data collection

Complexity

Moderate

Time

Ongoing

Participants

N/A

Activity

  • Be reflective
  • Plan
  • Gather data
  • Be analytical

Step by step:

  1. Define the objectives of your research. In order to search well, you need to know what it is that you are looking for.

  2. Create a research plan.

  3. Define your stakeholders or create an actor network.

  4. Conduct the research.

  5. Conclude and verify the data/information you have gained throughout your research.

When doing this method you should consider:

As it can be difficult to determine when to stop researching it would be a good idea to create a research plan before you start doing your research. The plan will most likely change along the process although it is a good idea to have some structure. Often times, developers have a hard time moving on from research because there will ultimately always be more to learn, but if you have created a plan with overall learnings that you want to achieve and you have achieved them you have an indicator saying ‘it is okay to move on to the next steps in the development’.

Make sure that you are diverse in your research. Do not accumulate all data/information from only using one method e.g. reading papers online. It is important that you both do desktop research, talk to people, perform different methods etc. to gain many perspectives on the subject you are researching.

 

Materials needed:

Computer, interview guides, methods & templates to collect data, paper, pens, post-its.